Argentina replace scrapped Finalissima with Guatemala friendly

2026-03-17 - 19:42

World champions Argentina will play Guatemala in a friendly to replace the cancelled Finalissima match against European champions Spain in Qatar, which fell foul to the Middle East war. Lionel Messi’s Argentina, who are also the Copa America holders, had been set to face Spain in Doha on March 27. But due to the war triggered by US-Israeli strikes on February 28 against Iran, organisers looked for a new location or date. UEFA said on Sunday that it had been forced to cancel the match as Argentina had rejected all its proposals. A day later, Spain announced they would play Serbia in a friendly on March 27 in Villarreal instead. And now Argentina have announced their own alternative friendly fixture against the Central Americans in Buenos Aires on March 31.